WHAT Medowie residents have known for a long time is now being addressed by a private medical company: there is a shortage of medical services in the suburb.

The demand for an after-hours service in Medowie is regularly the topic of chatter on local social media groups, with concerned parents and other residents frequently seeking information about General Practitioner (GP) home visits or after-hour clinics.

Medowie residents can now rest easy when they or their loved one is next sick: Dial A Home Doctor has opened in the local area, with services provided to Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Raymond Terrace, and Medowie.

The company is now offering the local service with qualified GPs available to visit you in the comfort of your own home.

The company has already been operating successfully in Raymond Terrace.

Last week, Sabikah Rizvi Director and Ada Smith Marketing Manager of Dial a Home Doctor, Newcastle met with local member, Ms Kate Washington, to discuss their plans for expansion.

Ms Sabikah told Medowie News Of The Area that they discussed “how we can manage the patient base more efficiently in Medowie, Raymond Terrace, and surrounding areas; we are there to support the local GPs by providing an after-hours service.”

“We are a family operated business and know the importance of a community and would love to work with them,” Ms Sabikah also said.

To reassure patients they will receive a continuity of care, the Newcastle franchise of Dial A Home Doctor send clinic notes to each patient’s regular GP the following day.

They also provide a unique service to the area of offering bulkbilled consultations, even after midnight.

The reason they bulkbill is, according to Ms Sabikah “to serve the community especially the local elderly and young families.”

The attending doctor is also able to provide complementary medicines to patients so that they are covered until they are able to get a prescription filled at the pharmacy.

In addition, the Dial A Home Doctor service is staffed by doctors who live in the local area and thus understand the problems specific to the local context.